I wanted to teach a lesson on using systems of linear equations to solve an interesting problem instead of the typical gym membership problems. I turned to the MTBoS search engine, but struck out (I was being really picky). I did, however, run across Christopher Danielson's "Oreo Manifesto" and found my inspiration. Then I found a picture at residentevents.com that helped inspire the rest of the problem. To spark interest and start the problem solving process, I started the lesson by showing the picture of the oreo stack on my smartboard. I had the students notice and wonder while I wrote what they said on the board. I then shared two things that I wondered: 1) How many calories would this oreo stack be? 2) How many grams would it be? In order to answer these questions, we brainstormed some things we might need to know. We also had a conversation about if the stufs in the oreo stack were from regular oreos or double stuf oreos. We decided to say that they were from regular oreos, but some were convinced that they were from double stuf. I followed up by giving the students the following image. Note: At this point, the students have brainstormed, but I have not told them what they need or how to answer the questions (in reality, I have not told them anything). I used the public brainstorming as a way to let them share ideas, but didn't want to do the thinking for them.
I randomly grouped the students together with cards and sent them to the whiteboards. We decided to work on the first question, "How many calories is the stack?" I let the students play around with the problem for a while. They struggled, which I anticipated. It became the headache and they wanted the aspirin (see Dan Meyer). As they worked, I visited each group to hear their ideas and thoughts. After a few minutes, I called the class together to one of the white boards. I explained that something that helps get a problem going is figuring out what the variables are. "What don't you know that you want to know?" We wanted to know how many calories the stack is. But what do we need to know more specifically? 1) How many calories is a wafer 2) How many calories is a stuf I sent the students back to their boards with the mission to now create equations. Once again, they struggled, but kept trying. I walked around to the groups and visited with them about what they were trying. (When talking with the students, it is my goal to learn what they understand and then move them forward with careful questioning. My rule is that I cannot tell them anything, I must ask a question) After a while, I called the class back together to talk about how to build the equations (aspirin to their headache again). They went back to their boards, wrote their equations and found how many calories were in the stack. (They have already learned how to solve systems). When each group answered the first question, I asked them to work on the second equation, "How many grams is the stack?" They jumped in with enthusiasm and worked until the end of the hour. Some finished, some did not. Either way, we all ate oreos before leaving for the day! To follow up, the next day, we worked on the typical word problems: from the situations, we constructed equations and solved the systems.
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AuthorI teach mathematics for grades 7-12. Teaching mathematics is my passion. Archives
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